Finding a Life Unknown
by Slipgate
Summary: The sequel to Slipgate's 'Losses' concludes. There were things that were lost. What has been found, and what comes next?
1. Finding a Life Unknown Chapter 1

**Title: Finding a Life Unknown**

**Story summary: The sequel to Slipgate's '**_**Losses**_**.' What can Kim and Bonnie tell Ron? What will they? And can the Ronster roll with the life he is presented?**

_**Disclaimer: This story uses characters owned by Disney Corporation but does not profit from doing so.**_

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**Finding a Life Unknown**

**by Slipgate**

Kim and Bonnie were rather childishly hiding around the corner from Ron's hospital room, because it had no closed door in the doorway and they were trying to mentally prepare for talking to him again without making it obvious that's what they were doing.

"Miss, can I help you?" a befuddled nurse eventually asked Bonnie, then turned to Kim. "Can I help either of you?"

"No, no, we're fine," Kim quickly replied. "We've already talked to the doctor, we're just…"

Kim looked to Bonnie for rescue.

"Ma'am, please pardon us. We're just dealing with some very private news, and may act strangely for a time. It should be no concern of yours."

The nurse nodded and walked off, a little nonplussed.

"Was…" Kim begin, "was that your attempt at a leave us alone froob diss?" Bonnie's face took a downturn as she looked at Kim. "Wow, that bite has really been weakened by being… with…"

"Well, Kim, I don't know. I find it interesting that _you_ were the one to have the words _froob_ and _diss_ come so quickly to mind. I wonder who's really matured here?" she bit out nastily and stalked around the corner.

Kim's face crumpled but she grabbed Bonnie's arm and suddenly got a dose of the furious teal eyes she remembered from when she'd rather unashamedly told Ron right in earshot of Bonnie that she didn't expect Bonnie to last as cheer captain for more than two weeks.

"Look, I'm… I'm sorry. It's… it's interesting to remind myself of the way you've changed, but that doesn't give me an excuse to sink to our old levels. And… I'm sorry about mentioning…"

Bonnie looked like she wanted to say something, but then the blazing eyes settled. Bonnie closed her eyes and counted to ten. Then she re-opened them and it only looked like a Bonnie version of Ron's serious face. "I needed to find my Bon-ness again. I'm worried, Kim… I'm already lashing out the way I used to, and this only happened today! I'm glad that the doctor okayed us telling Ron everything, but that doesn't mean things will be simple for him to accept, or for us to deal with. I… I don't want to be who I used to be. I don't want to treat either of you the way I used to."

"I'm sorry too, Bonnie. I seem to be going to old habits too, and it sucks. Unfortunately, I can't turn to my Kimness to remind myself, because it's… not a very positive ness."

"Hey, you've just had a troubling run. I mean, Jake was a first-rate asshole, and Perry was more narcissistic than Connie and Lonnie in a house of mirrors. Of course that would get to you."

"Thanks, Bonnie. That reminds me, Jake tried to serenade me with 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' yesterday night… I really need a vent session with you when we can get it. Actually I was going to call you about that when I saw my voicemail light blinking this morning."

"Funny how life does that. So, um, about Ron…"

"We're telling him. He's my friend, your friend, and your…"

"I know all that, but, um, you know he's going to have memories related to when it wasn't that way. Are you as prepared for that as I am… meaning not at all… or?"

"We explain what we can, and do what we can, Bonnie."

Both took deep breaths, and finally headed for Ron's hospital room.

"Hey Ron," both offered as they came in.

"Hey ladies, you're back!" Ron's grin was infectious to both girls, even as they were slightly grimacing.

As was obviously necessary given the subject matter, Bonnie let Kim start.

Kim sat in the chair near Ron's bed and Ron instinctively took her hand. Bonnie tried not to let her face crumple at this. Kim didn't look happy for Bonnie but knew it would be awkward to make it seem like the hand was unwelcome.

"So, Ron, listen," Kim began, "you remember how I had that incident with the MRM wiping my memories of us being a couple?"

Ron looked at Kim with an eyebrow raised. "Remember it? It only ended just the other day, KP!"

"Yes, well, about that…" Kim took a deep breath. This was harder than the tracking chip conversation had been. "The truth is, you've gone through a memory loss episode too, since then."

Ron's eyes widened. "For reals?"

"For reals." Kim found herself needing to adapt her high school speech patterns, and it wasn't a very clean fit. It felt awkward, like her parents trying to talk hip when she was on the school ski trip. She seemed to be doing a better job of it though since Ron – who hadn't said 'for reals' in quite that way for years – seemed to not catch anything amiss yet.

"To be honest, Ron, you're _still_ in the memory loss episode."

"What, really? But I remember last night…"

"Yeah, that makeup date for the halfaversary wasn't last night, Ron. That was years ago. Bonnie and I were so surprised since you said it was last night…"

"Years? Years?" Ron's voice was raising. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"We didn't know until you mentioned it being last night, and our first impulse was _'must talk to doctor, must talk to doctor,'_" Bonnie offered.

"Ah, so that's what that whole 'ladies going to the bathroom together' routine was?"

Bonnie and Kim groaned slightly. The Ron they were used to pulled this sort of guy thing less often.

"We weren't going to the bathroom, Ron." they chorused, almost in unison.

"Well, ah, no, I mean, the fact that you seemed to be in sync… like you are now… is what I was getting at… so… uhh, it's been years, you say? How… how long?"

"I don't know…" Kim began.

Ron got a serious look on his face. "Kim… don't become part of all those cheesy movies you hated growing up. Just talk to me straight. How long?"

"It's… been two and a half years, Ron."

"… T-t-… no."

"Ron…" Bonnie couldn't help but come over. "Please don't make this a cheesy movie either. Please don't pretend Kim would lie or exaggerate to you, not about this."

"O-okay. T-two, close to three years. Wow, I couldn't pick up on that. You both look really good if I couldn't pick up on the age difference."

"Ron," Kim said testily, "it's not like we said ten years."

"Look, cut me some slack, you're dropping bombshells on me here. Now, uh, we're talking two and a half years since high school, right?"

Both women nodded.

"So… graduation… some college?"

"You've completed a two-year culinary school program… you've been understudying at Chez Couteaux… and…" Bonnie hesitated, "you were recently admitted to an MBA program," Bonnie finally ticked off, having Kim's head whip around to her at what Bonnie knew was news to her. Ron couldn't help but notice she was giving him a smile of pride. He looked steadily at her, and her smile slowly faded as she knew what was coming.

"Bon-Bon… I was surprised at you being here, before. That's because in my head two days ago I was telling KP not to listen to you, and the one time you said something that could help me, she decided to follow my advice. I… I… roll with…"

"… the punches," Bonnie finished, "but it does hurt you on the inside." Ron looked at her steadily again and he knew that she… knew him, well enough to know that.

He'd had a conversation like this after his secret borrowing of the battle suit, when he and Kim had finally talked out old hurts and told each other things they'd never said to each other before – like about Kim's embarrassment date with Josh Mankey. Even Kim hadn't quite known this layer of Ron Stoppable, despite over a decade of friendship with him, until that conversation. And Bonnie knew. Bonnie knew.

"Bonnie, you have a reason for being here, don't you?"

"Duh, Stoppable!" she tried to bite back, but she trailed off, unable to speak to him the way she must once have, in another time and place.

"You… you look like you've slept in your clothes, Bonnie. Kim doesn't look that way."

A beat as Ron Stoppable's eyes took on a sharper focus. "Bonnie, are we…"

"together, yes." Bonnie admitted. Kim sucked in a sharp breath.

"Kim, I'm going to assume I'm not that much of a cad and figure that we just kissed in front of my girl when we've…"

"… been friends forever," Kim finished.

"Uh, just so I know, I'm not _totally_ imagining parts of my life up to what I remembered, right? We once dated?"

"Yeah. You were a great boyfriend, Ron. But you're Bonnie's…"

"Boyfriend?" Noticing Bonnie wince slightly, his eyes widened. Unseen to either of them, so did Kim's. "Um, fiancé? Because I'll feel like a real loser if I'm her husband and I forgot that."

At the word 'loser' Bonnie took the steps separating them forward and buried her head into his chest. Ron's eyes, alarmed, looked to Kim. Kim was recovering from the 'fiancé' revelation on top of the MBA admission and realizing that last night's dinner had been a twofold celebration. But she had enough presence of mind, and knew him enough, to know what he was about to ask. "No, you're not her husband yet." she said quickly.

"Then…"

"Hearing you use the word 'loser' on yourself… it's not something Bonnie suffers from anyone, and it's been a while since we've heard you use it on yourself."

"Okay, okay, um… look, I totally understand how whack this is… believe me, I'm dealing with this too… but I hope you both understand that it's very hard for me _not _because I have anything against Bonnie but because I was _literally daydreaming_ about Kim the other day… from my perspective, I mean.

"And… as painful as I know this is for both of you… believe me, Bonnie, I know how hard it is to deal with someone not remembering your time together… I really… really need to understand this myself. Can you two ladies _please_ fill me in? I don't even need to remember the movies Kim and I used to hate to know that if I have retrograde amnesia I may or may not get my memories back naturally, and I'd at least like to be able to function if I don't."

"But… if you don't…" Bonnie said, and Ron was moved by the tears shimmering in the teals.

"Bonnie. Bon-Bon… I'm sorry I don't know what my cute name is for you. Pretend that's what I said because that's what I would've said if I could've. I think I'm safe to assume that Kim won't mind me saying you're a _beautiful_ woman. And I _know_ you two wouldn't be telling me all this, and you wouldn't look like you'd stayed here overnight, unless we really had something going on. And I _know_ that wouldn't have happened unless all of us had gone through some major life changes…

"… Never mind all that professional stuff that doesn't sound like something someone with my grades could pull off without _major_ changes." Ron tried to deprecate, "I may only remember my relationship with Kim and you hurting my feelings, but I can tell that's not the Bonnie I'm talking to right now. I'm going to have to get used to all that, but I definitely don't doubt the fact of it all. Even if I don't remember… it's pretty obvious Kim and my relationship has changed. And it's pretty obvious that you and I wouldn't be together, and you two wouldn't be so chummy like you guys seem to be, unless that ship really had sailed on us."

Kim's mind was racing. Was this the Ron she'd once dated? It sounded more like the Ron he was now… had been yesterday. Was he getting anything back? Or was this just what her Ron would've done back then if presented with as significant a _sitch_ to get used to as this one?

Bonnie, however, was trapped by his eyes and his words. To her, it sounded so much like her Ron that the last little reminder that he was still remembering the relationship with Kim as present was still a bit of a sucker punch to hear out of her Ron's voice.

"Even if I don't get the memories back, I'll still be dealing with a situation where life with Kim has moved past me recapturing it." He teared up a bit. "Admittedly, that tanks for me since I feel like I just got her back, but I'd have to deal since that is what it is. If Kim had never gotten her memories back of us as a couple… that might've been harder for me to deal with than this. But I can tell you that I'd at least be willing to give this a try. I may not have my memories, but we can try another _first date_… er, emphasis on _first_ you understand… if you don't mind.

"Just don't tell me," Ron said, laughing nervously as he tugged the collar of his johnny, "that I had the wedding planned for tomorrow or something."

Bonnie grinned slightly, happy tears in her eyes. "Actually…"

"Bonnie!"

Ron's eyes had widened but Kim's warning prevented total cardiac arrest.

_**remaneo?**_

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**Author's Notes: **Readers, do I seem to have whiffled on the tragic possibilities of the original story, _**Losses**_? Or do you perhaps see what I might be thinking about here? I see challenging struggles still ahead for all three. What do you think those are? Hit the 'review' button and share your theories and ideas!


	2. Lost in Memories

**Title: Finding a Life Unknown**

**Story summary: The sequel to Slipgate's '**_**Losses**_**' continues. Ch. 2 – Ron's awake. The man once said he was losing everything he ever cared about. He bounced back that time. Will he this time?**

_**Disclaimer: This story uses characters owned by Disney Corporation but does not profit from doing so.**_

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**Finding a Life Unknown**

**by Slipgate**

**Chapter 2: Lost in Memories**

Ron looked expectantly at Kim and Bonnie. He was in the Twilight Zone as far as he was concerned, and he needed to understand how it was he could be dating Bonnie Rockwaller. Bonnie Rockwaller? Seriously? The same Bonnie Rockwaller that had irritated the crap out of him as a literal hanger-on and as someone who'd tried to get Kim's goat through kissing him back at Homecoming. The same Bonnie who just now had tried to give him a heart attack if it weren't for Kim reassuring him.

Unless there was some major moodulator or neural compliance chip issues going on, though, he didn't think Kim would be joining Bonnie in pulling his leg. And he knew all too well how painful doubting someone could be in matters of the heart. Now that he looked at her, he realized there was no way his halfaversary makeup date with Kim had just been last night the way he remembered it. And she also had a sad smile, which, if his Kim-reading was as good as it used to be, he interpreted as realizing just the parallel he was drawing. There had to be a gap here.

It was a gap that was freaking him out.

Bonnie was wringing her hands and Kim was biting her lip. Finally, Kim opened her mouth and…

"Hi everyone, how are you doing?" a most unwelcome voice interjected.

The two women turned in shock to the newcomer. "Dr. Cohan?" Bonnie asked.

Ron looked at this Dr. Cohan. His hair was brown and his forehead and cheeks stuck out a bit compared to his eyes. The effect was a little odd. His eyes seemed deep – in the literal way, not the _oh darling_ way in the soaps Kim used to watch (and that only Ron knew about, under penalty of death by tickle, and more recently by kiss deprivation).

"Well Mr. Stoppable, the girls told me you were awake. Finally got done with another patient. Sorry if I'm interrupting… just need to check you out, see how things are." Dr. Cohan said.

Looking at the doctor and divining that there might be some evaluation questions here, Kim sighed and then said, "Ron, I have a feeling the doctor wants to talk to you for a bit. Bonnie and I will go get some drinks in the cafeteria or something. We'll be back soon."

Ron was groaning in his mind. He was still freaked out and now answers had been denied. He could read Kim well enough to know she also felt the frustration of needing to defer talking to him when she'd just worked up the nerve to spill. Bonnie's eyes had narrowed at Kim when she'd 'excused them' from the room, in a way that was a _lot _more familiar than anything he'd seen from her recently, but then he saw Bonnie's eyes lose the hardened cast and watched her sigh. Bonnie conceding Kim a point? _Totally Twilight Zone._

Ron forced himself to calm down and shrugged. He wanted to know, but what were they going to do? Admittedly, even he'd needed to be patient when Kim had amnesia… he'd left her in the care of 'doctors' (literally) and didn't start letting the _sitch_ bother him until the next morning. Well, okay, so it bothered him before that, but that depressing morning was the first time the idea that things might not all turn out okay pricked him.

It was almost like a cheat of a cliffhanger that they couldn't just tell him how in the heck he was dating _Bonnie Rockwaller_ and getting engaged to _Bonnie Rockwaller_ when Kim was _right there_ and looking so beautilicious that it hurt. She was wearing a snug wraparound shirt, red, and some proper jeans instead of capris. He remembered she'd started dressing _somewhat_ like this during senior year, but she'd effected a transformation enough to hit his uncanny meter just slightly.

Bonnie stalked over to him and there was something… unfamiliar? … in her eyes as she leaned toward him. His widening eyes and panicking face stayed the descent of her face to meet his. She looked him in the eyes, and then her eyes drooped as her shoulders sagged. After a moment, she resignedly pecked him on one corner of his mouth. Unlike the one other time he was familiar with kissing Bonnie, she didn't seem to be trying to make a big sloppy noisy time of it for reasons he'd only find out when he finally managed to pull away. This time, the kiss was more like practicing shoddy mouth to mouth on a rubber CPR dummy. Even weirder, Kim's eyes didn't even widen at seeing Bonnie kissing him.

_Twilight Zone. Or weird fungus on the rock walls we climbed to our pick-up after the train mission. Something._

**~*~*KP*~*~**

After the girls left, Dr. Cohan didn't say anything for a time. He looked at the readings on the equipment hooked up to Ron, wrote down what he saw, and busied himself straightening up the room as he hummed to himself. Ron waited for a moment for some sort of response, but instead the humming – which had seemed familiar – gained words as Dr. Cohan puttered around the room.

"Glory, glory hallelujah… glory, glory Hallelujah… Glory, glory hallelujah–"

"Doctor?" Ron interrupted.

"Hmm? Oh, yes?"

"Okay, one, I'm not exactly feeling really chipper right now, so I have to admit that I don't really want to hear that song right now. Second," he cut off the doctor's grimace and move to apologize, "Can we talk?"

"I am sorry. I guess I forgot that you literally weren't awake when I came by before. You can call me George… or Michael, I sometimes go by my middle name." Here, Dr. Cohan stopped and shook Ron's hand. "I'm the doctor on duty for this section right now. I have to admit I'm also a bit tired because I'm near the end of a long shift… the social mores may be escaping me."

"So, talk to me, doc. I'm missing some years of my life here. Will I get them back? Is there anything I can do to help get them back?"

"Well, I have a question for you, related to that." Dr. Cohan seemed to cross his arms as he tried to lean comfortably against a wall as they talked. "Kim Possible wasn't really clear because she commented on it too briefly when she and Miss Rockwaller explained to me that you were missing memories. But it sounded like you've dealt with this before?"

"Yes…" and at seeing the doctor's look of confusion. "I mean I've dealt with it before. I haven't been the victim before."

"Ah, you knew someone who was once amnesiac?"

"Yes. Kim lost _all_ her memories once… but she… got them back?" Ron's face was suddenly brightening. "Doctor, have you heard of a Dr. Langford and his Memory Recovery Machine?"

"Dr. Langford? I remember that I think from a few years ago. The MRM? What about it?"

"I'm sorry, but first… can we use the MRM on me? Get me back my memories that way?"

"Ah, unfortunately, I don't think I can endorse that method of treatment."

"What? Aww, why?"

"The MRM's clinical trials were not as successful as they were hoping for. While it brought back memories, the clinical trials showed that more than 50% of those participating in the tests had serious negative consequences, enough that the treatment was scrapped as unsafe to use on people since you never knew if they'd be among the people to face those risks. Also, it worked much better – but was still dangerous most of the time – on people that had no head trauma or major accidents that would often lead to memory loss in the first place. However, in cases like the head trauma you experienced, it was shown to exacerbate a bad situation if you didn't let the injury heal on its own… like trying to do a shot of coffee to counteract some alcohol and just sort of cocktailing yourself into a dangerous situation."

"I wouldn't drink…" Ron said absentmindedly, not grasping in that moment that he wasn't still 17 going on 18. Disheartened, he said, "so that miracle invention didn't even turn out to be something that's still around?"

"The safety margin on all patients for serious negative consequences was too high… and the effects of making a problem worse when a patient had head trauma just skyrocketed on top of that." Dr. Cohan said with regret, then paused. "How did you know of the MRM anyway?"

"When it was first announced, Dr. Drakken tried to steal it. Kim and I were there and we got it back, but Drakken had put the power cell in backward and triggered the device somehow. It blew up in Kim's hands as she was trying to get rid of it. After that, Dr. Langford said something about how with the power cell in backwards Drakken had reversed the flow – had sucked up all of Kim's memories." Ron grimaced; he was recounting recent events like they were history.

"That would explain why Kim was so unspecific about this. You say it was total amnesia?"

"Her parents tried to use a penlight on her, and she said, I quote, 'light… bright!'" Ron recounted, imitating Kim's voice at the time near the end.

"Oh dear."

"After some pretty embarrassing things for her – like needing to cheerlead or go to school with not a thought in her head, and eating some flowers I gave her thinking they were food, she was starting to get her memories back bit by bit." Ron paused a moment, then decided to skip ahead. "Eventually they all came back. Actually, you're going to laugh… what I'm telling you about was just a couple days ago for me. My memory goes back to our date night where we were celebrating how she got all her memories back as if that was last night and I'd woken up after going to bed after."

"And that explains why you were so excited about the MRM. I am sorry about that. There are treatments always being researched, but I hesitate to suggest joining a clinical trial when you don't know what negative effects might come out of the testing. Keep in mind though that some wonder drug or device might solve your problem – this is just my cautious recommendation. In my professional opinion you shouldn't immediately jump to dire predictions… you may remember everything in a week, you may remember everything in a month, you may remember everything in two minutes. Although there may be treatments effective now that won't be later if this progresses, my professional opinion is to see if existing recall methods do anything for you before turning to last resorts."

"I guess I have a lot to think about. There is one method I've seen used that had some success; I might turn to that first." Ron said.

Dr. Cohan nodded. "Do you want to be on your own a few minutes or do you want me to go chase down the girls?"

"Yeah, if you could bring them here that would help."

**~*~*KP*~*~**

As Ron waited (_the cafeteria must be a few floors down_) his mind tried to construct fantastical scenarios that somehow ended in him not dating his best friend and instead dating his chief tormentor. As he kept theorizing, he couldn't find one that he could believe would happen in a thousand years… except for one possibility.

Once Kim and Bonnie came back, Ron knew he should let Kim get to what she was trying to say herself… he _knew_ this… but he couldn't help but start himself.

"First, can I say something?" Ron asked seriously.

Kim bit her lip and nodded.

"All right…" he said, then turned to Bonnie. "All right, Bonnie, I know it would suck if I kept talking to Kim about this, trying to figure out where things came from because you're telling me that _you_ have that role in my life right now."

Hesitantly, Bonnie nodded.

"And if you have that role in my life right now, it might not really help things all that much if I'm talking so much to Kim and not to you to get myself mentally caught up with how I can get from point A to point B in my life here. I realize it would tank for you if I'm sitting here talking to you about 'well what about this thing that happened with Kim?' or you know, 'what about this event in my relationship with Kim?' Or maybe you tell me something and I'd just not understand it, like, if Kim and I were calling each other less I might just ask 'How come we didn't call each other more?' Long story short, I will need to talk to Kim a bit at first to understand this, especially since asking you at first wouldn't be a fun conversation for either of us to have."

"But then I think, if I really am just friends with Kim now and I'm with _you_…" Ron paused in thought, then plowed on. "I mean, just like I hoped Kim wouldn't mind me saying you're a beautiful lady, I hope you won't mind me saying that I have to imagine that if things had gone south with Kim or just turned back into friendship again, that I would be kind of bummed and talking about it for a while to work my way through it. So for all I know, you might've, um, been my ear for this already. This is just a theory… that things ended with Kim and you ended up being the one I talked to about that. And, if not, whether your answer is yes or no, would you be willing to do that? If I didn't need that before on the road to us getting together I might now."

"Um, to answer your question Ron… it wasn't entirely like that but there are some similarities. You certainly talked to me about your relationship with Kim. And, I get your concern because you're worried it's going to take you a while here of mooning over Kim and you don't know that I'd necessarily be very appreciative of that… by the Bonnie you knew or by me for that matter. '_Though for different reasons maybe._' she thought.

"Yeah, that's what I'm going to say." Ron parroted uselessly.

Bonnie was quiet for a time. She was sitting in one of the chairs next to the bed, pulled up, and her eyes took on a thoughtful cast as she looked to the side for a moment. "Well," Bonnie said, "I don't know what… I love you, I'd have to be willing to put up with that mooning either way."

"How do you figure?" Ron asked, surprised.

"If you hadn't lost your memory, and you one day wanted to talk to me to get some closure about Kim if you hadn't already, we'd be having this conversation either way. I just have to deal sooner than I expected with one of those…"

"Vows?" Ron hazarded.

Bonnie grew silent.

Ron's face crumpled. "I'm sorry, Bonnie."

Not a muscle moved for a minute. Except the hearts of the three participants. Those were hammering.

"Also, Kim?" Ron finally ventured.

"Yeah, Ron?" Kim said, biting her lip and unconsciously bracing herself.

"Kim, how did I screw up?"

Both were taken aback and Bonnie frowned. "You didn't screw up, Ron." Kim said gently.

"But then, how did we break up? … Are you saying _you_ screwed up?"

"Ron!" Kim snapped at first, but then stopped to think. Then, "Yeah, I screwed up."

"What! What do you mean? I can't believe you would've–"

"No, it's nothing like I cheated on you or anything. We were all at school and… I wasn't… I wasn't… really there for you when you were going through a rough patch."

"So… I broke up with you? Is that what you're telling me?"

"No… no." Kim took a cleansing breath. Then she sat. As she pulled her chair closer, the scrape of the legs along the floor seemed especially sharp and jarring. "Like I said, you were going through a lot. And I snapped at you when you needed some support… because I was going through a lot too. It didn't damage us – it was just normal Kim tweak – but it did mean that your emotional support for what you were dealing with at that moment wasn't me."

"And… you're saying it was Bonnie?" Ron looked to Bonnie to confirm his question.

"Hard to believe, huh, Ron?" Bonnie said, with a small smile with crinkled eyes and… the sheen of tears? "Anyway, times changed for us. And with your influence and the three of us dealing, it helped us bury the hatchet in a big way. Now we're… _gasp_… friends… or something." The last she said with no heat, and with a smile and wink directed at the red-headed person in the room.

"So, this… blowup between us? That was the event that brought about our breakup?"

"An event? Not exactly, but I can tell you that you're trying to come up with theories, Ron, so we should probably just be straight with you."

"Um, yes, please… but, before we go deeper into that, I have a question."

Kim fell into her habit of a particular kind of shrugging shoulder that had come to mean 'shoot' between the two friends.

"I hate to spring this on you girls. But what happened with my relationship isn't the only thing I have to figure out here. But I don't know what the heck I'm supposed to do. I mean, I have a degree I don't remember getting, which means unless I get my memory back that all the education that gave me that degree is gone, and I've been admitted to an MBA but I'm probably not qualified for the MBA like I was when I applied to it. I mean… what do they do for amnesiacs in the school situation? I mean… what happens as far as people who have amnesia and the educations they had? I mean, am I stuck? Does that null everything you guys told me and I have to go get a GED or something? What?"

Feeling inadequate to the line of questioning, Kim finally forced herself to reply with some answer. "I don't know, Ron. I've never looked into it. Dr. Cohan or my mom might know, but that would be something we'd have to find out, yeah."

"If I had to do a GED and do the culinary program and the MBA admission all over again…"

Bonnie cut in. "If you'd have to do that, Ron, then yeah, that would suck. But we'd stick by you for it, okay?"

"That's the best I can do with the hand I have right now, I guess. Oh, wait, I almost forgot, I need Bonnie to talk to your parents."

"To my folks? Why?"

"Memory Recovery DVD."

"Um, oh! Hmm. It might help things, yeah. But wait, why Bonnie talk to my parents?"

"I'm wondering too, Ron." Bonnie said, rising stiffly from her chair on sleeping feet.

"It sounds like she'd have the inside scoop on the actual period of time I'm missing. I suppose I should be grateful for small favors that I do remember some things."

"Okay, that said, sorry about my tangents. Okay, Kim, you totally gave me that yellow and black book here, but I mean we've been friends since Pre-K and we were dating for at least six months… and it sounds like longer… I need more info than that to reconstruct, what, three years?"

"Two and a half," Kim and Bonnie instinctively replied. Ron wanted to be amused that they were in sync but given what he knew right now about both that was actually, inadvertently, bizarre or unsettling more than any other feeling.

And so Kim opened her mouth. No doctor interrupted her. No Ron tangent (though they were justified for the poor guy) interrupted her. Bonnie looked at her supportively. Ron was quiet and appeared to be hanging on every potential word of what she was about to say.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, Kim began to speak.

_**tsuzuku**_

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**Author's Notes: **I'm interested in constructive criticism here. Am I maintaining the tight storytelling reviews seem to have been praising me for in the prequel _**Losses**_ and in the first chapter of this story? Or am I getting too wordy? Also, are the characters still recognizably Ron, Kim, and Bonnie to you, dear readers? And is the situation feeling credible? I crave your feedback because this story is kind of an experiment for me in refining some of my skills and I want to make sure I don't fail to give it my all related to making that experiment a success. Reviews would be most appreciated and responded to quickly.

My thanks to _Pinky Jo Curlytail. _In addition to her friendship,_ s_he helped me tweak one iffy paragraph in this chapter, and assisted me on certain story details you won't see until a later chapter.

Also I need to break form slightly to thank _Sharper the Writer_, _AnotherKPFan_, _Reader101w_, _Cajunbear73_, _Earl Allison_, _EnterpriseCV-6_, _Katsumara_, _SithKnight-Galen_, _AmericanGecko_, and others for their reviews of either _**Losses**_ or the first chapter of this story thus far. The first two I mentioned left me such glowing reviews that I was at a literal… um… loss in how to even say anything but thank you to them. The others have given me very enthusiastic, interested, and kind reviews and have seemed to take special note of this story in some way. This isn't everyone that reviewed me, and I still feel PM conversations with my reviewers are best, but I've received such encouraging reviews so far that I had to, just _had_ to, say something. Thank you all and also anyone who hasn't reviewed – I hope the story continues to be worthy of the praise it's already received, because man would it suck if it didn't.


	3. Lost in Love

**Title: Finding a Life Unknown**

**Story summary: The sequel to Slipgate's '**_**Losses**_**' continues. Ch. 3 – Ron's lost two and a half years of his life to a head injury. He awakens to find himself in a very different relationship. He looks to Kim, because he needs **_**answers**_**. Will Kim's make sense?**

_**Disclaimer: This story uses characters owned by Disney Corporation but does not profit from doing so.**_

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**Finding a Life Unknown**

**by Slipgate**

**Chapter 3: Lost in Love**

"When we graduated high school," Kim began, "it was at a time when you were pretty worried you were going to end up separated from me. You'd felt pretty good about graduating until _Barkin_," and here Kim's face got ugly in a way Ron found interesting, "got you freaked out by making you think about how we don't know what the future holds and we might not be together. That man, I swear, was never very good for your self-esteem."

Ron smiled and said, "Now I know I'm in the Twilight Zone… KP's agreeing with me about Barkin having it out for me."

Kim's face flushed with heat, and while Ron was sure it was partly embarrassment, he wasn't entirely convinced it was just embarrassment. "When we talked later about we graduated, I realized just how many times the man had made you doubt yourself – maybe that hadn't been his intention, but after how he handled the Lowardians and how you handled them, I don't feel very charitable toward _Sergeant Barkin_."

"The Lowardians? Do you mean like that crazy Warmonga who thought Drakken was the Great Blue?" Ron asked, laughing as he thought of the gullible alien that Kim had told him all about during their yummy diversion of the dating kind.

"A-a… er, I don't really consider the Lowardians a laughing matter any more, Ron." Kim said with a wince, and Ron, wondering what he'd said, looked to Bonnie to see her own face getting used to the fact that Ron had laughed about Warmonga.

"Um?"

"Ask me to tell you another time in more detail, but Warmonga came back, and she brought some friends… an invasion fleet."

"Holy cannoli."

"You ended up saving the world, Ron," Bonnie suddenly cut in, "you grew into and got control of your Mystical Monkey Power –"

"Wait _wait _wait _wait_ wait…! Bonnie? You know about the Mystical Monkey Power?"

Bonnie opened her mouth, closed it. Looked at Kim. Looked at Ron. Eventually Ron withdrew against his headboard a little, feeling stupid. "Um, I guess being together for a while, stuff like that would come up?"

"Can we focus on what I was about to tell you, Stopp–… Ron?"

"Yes yes… wait, what, did you say I saved the world? I mean, I help Kim save the world sometimes, so that's nothing new, right?"

He looked to Kim. "Right?"

"As I was saying," Bonnie said, as Ron tried to figure out why Kim looked to be struggling for what to say to him, "_You_ saved the world. The Lowardians… when Kim's life was threatened you… defeated Warmonga and Warhok."

Kim took over. "You saved the whole planet from an invasion that had overrun it with mechanical walkers. Me, Shego, you, and Drakken all worked together, Ron. But in the end, it was you who saved the day. Shego and I were knocked out cold, Drakken was off trying to stop the walkers, and you were alone.

"But, um, what I was saying… you'd been worrying, ever since Barkin had deflated your balloon _one more time_ for his sick version of what he thought of as tough love, that we wouldn't be sticking together after college, and you didn't know how to deal with that. That worry was building in your head – and then sort of received an unintentional kick in the pants when you came over and saw me dealing with piles of mail. I was getting lots of college acceptance letter… and you… weren't."

"I guess I can see that. This was six months after the last thing I remember, huh?"

Kim nodded. "Anyway, when you saved the day, you felt more confident that we'd be fine and we'd stick together whatever happened – I mean, you came to the stars to rescue me –"

Ron held a finger up until Kim subsided. "This is where I again say, wait _wait _wait… Came to the stars?"

"It's a really long story, Ron, but it goes to show you how much you cared and what you were willing to do, and it's not going to answer the questions you have about what happened to us in college."

"Okay, but I definitely want to come back to that."

"Anyway, you felt more sure of yourself and more confident whatever the future might hold. However, I think it was Shego who made an idle comment later, something like, 'Hey, you're a decent cook. Why not go to culinary school?'"

"Somehow you'd never thought of it, and I'd never thought of it to suggest it. You'd been applying to schools for general stuff, and we quickly did up an application for you where I helped you out to Penn State after finding out it had a great HRIM program…"

"H–" Ron began to ask, only to be interrupted…

"Oh shit!" Bonnie suddenly cursed.

"What, what is it?" Ron said, alarmed and broken out of his thoughts on what Kim was telling him for the moment.

"Kim, we've totally spazzed on calling Ron's folks!"

"Oh sh–"

"Kim!" Ron cried, surprised at what was coming from Kim's mouth.

"Okay, yeah, we haven't called them yet," Ron said, looking uncertainly at both women's expressions, "and I get that this memory loss would be doozy news… but my parents and I don't talk that often…"

"No, Ron…" Bonnie said, alarmed, "You and your folks came to an understanding. You talk to them a lot more now about the things you do ever since they finally talked to you about never knowing whether or when you were in danger with Kim and you had it out with them for seeming not to care when to them it seemed you didn't care to tell them what was going on with you."

Bonnie strode to her bag and was furiously pawing through it, looking for something. "I guarantee you 100% that they knew you were proposing last night and would be wondering why they've gone nearly 24 hours without hearing any news."

Finally Bonnie pulled out her phone, and her face crumpled at seeing several voicemails reported by the screen along with the little icon cheerfully reporting that the phone had been on silent. She now recalled it had been put on silent during the movie they took in _before_ last night's dinner. Her head snapped up and reminded her that the windows outside were dark with the pitch of night again.

Ron had recovered from her statement of a moment ago enough to yelp, "We got engaged just last night? And _then_ I lose my memory? God, Bonnie, that tanks!"

"Yeah, well, I guess it really is the story of my life… for a while there I thought maybe I'd closed that book. Listen, um, Kim, you keep talking to Ron since I won't have too much to add on this story for a while yet. Let me call Ron's folks back here – in the cell phone waiting area, I guess… can't believe I left it on silent…" Bonnie grumbled as she strode out of the room before Ron could stop her to ask what she'd meant by _that_ last comment.

**~*~*KP*~*~**

Ron and Kim looked at each other.

"My parents… we started talking more?"

"Yeah."

"And they probably knew I was proposing last night?" Ron asked, his voice tentative.

"You _probably_ were asking their opinions as you thought about different rings."

Ron's eyes sharpened their focus on Kim. "You say _probably_ there. You didn't know Bonnie and I got engaged last night?"

"This happened right after the dinner where you popped the question, so I gather."

"And how come you didn't know I'd been admitted into an MBA?" Ron asked, his tone of voice that of someone who is trying to make sense of what he's hearing.

"I think last night was you celebrating that too. You were probably going to call me to dish about both major bits of news last night after you were home." Kim said, and a smile reached her lips that he didn't find reflected in her eyes.

"So I tell Bonnie things before I tell you?" Ron asked as he leaned against his headboard.

"Well, significant other, you know," Kim said, biting her lip. It had just naturally become that way and only now, with this 'past' Ron, did it sound unusual.

"Um… so, you were saying… H–what'sit?"

"HRIM program. Penn State had a great HRIM program. Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management."

"And they took me when no other colleges were?"

"When I was helping you try to write your goals statement, you talked about coming up with Seven Layers of Heaven in our home ec disaster and actually included the recipe as sort of an informational thing if they were curious. You also mentioned creating the naco. At the time I was desperate to be able to see you go to school so I was recommending anything you'd done food-related could be brought up. I'm not sure they were that impressed that you'd invented the naco, but your advisor did later tell you that he'd been among the reviewers of your application and one of the deciding factors had been the variety of experiences you had – you'd done this fine dining cake but also come up with a fast food thing and done some management, and it helped that some applicants were coming to learn to cook instead of to learn to be better cooks. He afterwards got real panicky that he'd said he was one of your application reviewers and told you to pretend you hadn't heard that, though," Kim added with the first grin she'd been able to crack in a while.

"But a two year degree? I thought college was four years!"

Kim's expression grew wistful. "You know, that was a new idea to us at the time too. We didn't know what an associate's degree was and had to ask my dad. _Then_ you were trying to decide if you wanted a 2 year or 4 year degree, and I was making sure I'd applied to Penn State since I decided I had to be close to you after all."

"Okay…" Ron said, trying to not think about all the ways they seemed to have stuck together and how they'd broken up anyway… _school, school, think of questions about the school thing_ he chanted to himself. "So why did I decide a two year degree then?"

"You decided on a two year degree because you wanted to give yourself some experience in another subject after that, at the time that was your reason anyway. You were leery of four years of college with just cooking to show at the end of it, even though they kept talking about how HRIM majors covered more than just the cooking."

"I wanted different experiences?"

"You were more confident and started trying to do stuff to be successful. You wanted to take more of Martin Smarty's book about getting yourself _up there_ to heart and you wanted to not just be known for being good at one thing. I think by a year in you were pretty sure you wanted an MBA to better manage if you end up with a job other than cooking _or_ if you tried to go the route of owning or managing a restaurant."

"That explains school, I guess. But what about us, KP?"

"Yeah, I needed that context I guess, plus you and me dating can't have been your only question about the last couple years. I'll try to speed up a little, though."

**~*~*KP*~*~**

Kim stopped and turned her head. She looked out the window at the darkened sky and seemed lost in thought. As Ron viewed her profile from the side, he took her in. His – to his mind, recently his girlfriend. She was wringing her hands and biting her lip, and her eyes seemed far away.

"Okay." she said. "Okay. So… umm, remember how I said I helped you with your goals statement when you were applying to Penn State? So, you got into Berks College at Penn State, into their two year Associate's Degree program. I decided to stick with you and so I went to Penn State too."

"What was your major?" Ron asked.

"International diplomacy."

"Hey, awesome. I remember how much you wish you'd gotten to that mentor instead of what happened with Janitor Joe."

"Hah. Yeah… awesome…" Kim said, and somehow, Ron got the impression…

"Or not?" he asked.

"So, you know Ron, it's funny telling you this, since just yesterday this would be something you and I would both be saying amen to if someone in high school asked us our opinions… Anyway, we both came to Penn State. How do you think I did at it?"

"You kicked, Kim. I know it. You maintained awesome gradeage in school."

"I took it for granted just how hard college would be."

"That bad, huh?"

"Well, you know how I always said I was a basic average girl, and that things were no big?"

"Sure."

"The first part of that was definitely right. I really didn't anticipate what college would bring. I'm not sure if I believed my own hype after all or what, but in all that time I was helping you prepare for Penn State I kind of took for granted that I'd come, do what my teachers told me, and pass my classes. I kind of came to college expecting I knew the answers in a way that I, well, didn't.

"The truth is, I was just a high school girl myself. I was coming to college figuring as if I'd just do it, assuming I knew how to do it. It's funny, though, but I don't think I was the only person who assumed I'd know how to make smart choices in life. Somehow I figured that if you were struggling in school or trying to figure out what career you wanted that I'd be able to help advise you. I think even my folks somehow had bought into how prepared I thought I was for everything.

"But the truth is I had no more experience with college or any of those things than any other high schooler like us. And just like any of them, I wasn't already experienced in this stuff to be assuming I'd know exactly how to deal."

"Are you saying you were suddenly tanking at your classes, Kim?"

"I worked my ass off… sorry, it's been a couple years since I've watched my language down to high school PC levels. But everything was just overwhelming and hard to figure out.

"It was stupid to take 18 credits my first semester and not realize what a challenge that would be or how little time to myself I'd have for anything social or anything to de-stress.

"It was a struggle not to be long-winded in my papers. One time I was asked for 15 pages and I kept talking for 27, and then was doing all-nighters to squeeze out half-baked papers for the other classes.

"I had a foreign language requirement, and I thought I'd be so smart to take a new language instead of taking more Latin and building off something I'd already learned some of. There I figured _I_ knew well enough that I had to be _right_ to decide not to continue with Latin.

"Granted, I wouldn't necessarily have been happy with Latin either, but trying to learn a brand new language at college age when I was just so swamped with other stuff that I couldn't focus on it other than cramming the vocabulary one week and losing it the next… wasn't exactly adding a trivial amount of head-scratching to my day.

"Basically, it wasn't just 'Oh, Kim knows what she's doing.' I acted like I'd be coming to college to _do_, not _learn_, as if I'd already learned. That was painful."

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_… okay, take a breather, Kim." Ron looked at Kim, whose face had scrunched up as old tears seemed to have come to her eyes and her voice had been going more and more shrill. He'd only finally gotten a chance to try to dispel the Kimness. Or was this Kimness? For the first time about something other than who he was dating, Ron Stoppable was at sea. He didn't remember Kim ever looking this put-upon. "Um, so you were having a tough time… okay, noted… but just forgive the questions for a moment since I totally don't know, you know? Okay, so, was nobody else taking 18 credits?"

"Oh yeah, there were like two I knew in one of my classes. But they were smarter than me, or better than me, or weren't doing it at the same time they were shooting themselves in the foot with other things like trying to learn Chinese and all the thousands of characters in the writing system when they had no experience with that level of workload yet."

"And… the rest?"

"Oh, I could keep going, Ron. I kept trying to get everything I wanted to say down in a smaller length but my papers were as much a chore for the teachers as they were for me. And basically, I worked my butt off for that semester and managed to pull two As, three Cs, and fail Chinese 101."

"Wow. Um, wow. Seriously Kim, forget that I'm hearing this all for the first time and need to know more and come here. You _seriously_ need a Best Friend hug if nothing else."

**~*~*KP*~*~**

"So, college was tough, huh?" Ron tried to console as he patted Kim's back. He thought he felt tear trails join his cheek from where Kim's face was pressed into his shoulder. "But hey, hey now… you got through it, didn't you? Why the tears now?"

"I guess," Kim snatched a tissue from Ron's tray and swiped it at her eyes, "I guess remembering a time that sucked… also sucks."

"Okay, so, first semester, um, if this all was going on I had to have been helping you out, right? Anything like a little pick me up waiting for you in your dorm after a long hard day at the stone quarry? I mean… I don't know if I dropped the ball, but I hope I was there to help."

"Early on, it's not like you didn't try. But you weren't having it easy either, Ron. Can I finish describing my thing before I go to yours?"

"There's _more_? But sure, KP, I'm here for you."

"Before I forget… international diplomacy was kind of a bust. While I'd been interested in the topic… I wasn't the best fit."

"That's quitter talk, KP."

"No listen to me. I was interested. And you know, I wasn't like aggressive or something. I only fought the bad guys physically when it had been called for, like duking it out with Drakken's goons to get back something he stole, stuff like that.

"But… that had been a part of my life for so long that the snark came to me so naturally in conversations… and it's completely counter to diplomacy. I remember one of the girls in my dorm hall was hoping to go into education and she was watching her mouth and didn't let herself say words like 'ass' like you've, um, noticed I do. She told me it was because if she got used to saying those words without thinking about it, it would be hard to not let 'er rip in front of a classroom of kids one day. She avoided it so that it wouldn't be a habit for her later."

"Makes sense," Ron said, trying not to think about hugging his former girlfriend.

"Anyway, so the snark wasn't really helping me win any _diplomatic_ points. I didn't change my major right away, though… I'm talking about something that I kept trying to insist would be okay."

"Don't other martial artists also have aggression like that, though?" Ron asked.

"Some people might be sparring and using battle as stress relief, Ron, but I had fights with opponents who meant harm to me and I would get into trash talks with them. Anyway, I've kept sitting there, working at getting better at the diplomacy instead of wanting to make my 'hip teen quips' as one teacher said. I'm wondering if I should go into administration of justice instead, though. Be something like a cop. I never got so aggressive… well other than once… to not apprehend the crooks even if I did trash talk. But I really have wanted to do international diplomacy for so long that here I am four semesters in still dealing with people who are rolling their eyes at me in my classes."

"Have I been any help with you about this?"

"You've tried to, but you think I'm giving myself a mental block over this and that after this many semesters I'm starting to try to rationalize backing out. You _have_ told me recently that I was doing quitter talk. Anyway, I haven't changed major yet."

**~*~*KP*~*~**

"Anyway, so, now what was happening with you…" Kim began.

"Knock knock," Bonnie said as she stepped in. "I called them. That… was hard."

"Are they coming?" Ron asked, and his voice almost sounded wondering in its tone.

"_Oh_ yeah, they're coming. They were going to run over right away but I managed to tell them a little of the situation before they hung up on me – they barely heard me through the abandoned phone receiver and came back asking what I'd said that was so important." Bonnie replied, smiling slightly at what their speed of response suggested about how much his parents cared.

"So, how did they take it?" Kim asked. She started to pull away from Ron's arms but Bonnie's hand on her shoulder stayed her.

"Well, Kim, how well do you expect a phone conversation to go when it starts, 'Bonnie? Oh, Bonnie! So, are congratulations in order?' And you can tell she has this huge grin while she's saying it. I submit _that_ as the definition for your little _awk-weird_ neologism."

What Ron was thinking, even as he winced at what his mother had brought up, was that Bonnie did a scarily good impression of his mother. What he said was, "Uh, neologism?"

Shoulders sagged again and Bonnie muttered, "Newly invented word."

"That's rough, Bonnie," Kim said, shocked silent a moment. "Was that the worst of it, though? The unfortunate beginning?"

"The rest of it was pretty much 'Oh my God!', 'Dean, get our coats!', and a click."

Kim looked between Bonnie and Ron. "So, as much as I hate to admit it, maybe we should pick up this story after they see you, Ron."

Ron was about to sigh in disappointment when Bonnie saved him. "They're two cities away, Kim. Though they might be burning rubber."

"Actuarial dinner?" Kim asked.

"Yup."

**~*~*KP*~*~**

"Yeah, what was I doing Kim?"

"Feel free to chime in here, Bonnie."

"I will, but I want to let you finish explaining before I add to what you've said. Ron's not going to be the most patient of people."

"Hey!" Ron cried. Then he grumbled. "I kind of hoped I got better about that."

"You did, a lot. But you are who you are, Ron." Bonnie replied.

"So," Kim said, "I spent so long completely submerged in dealing with everything that you and I were really _not_ seeing each other that often. By the time I got some breathing room, get my head above water, at the end of the first semester, with my two A's and one F and tons of C's, is when I started grasping that you were struggling too. You'd been working so much to figure out your stuff too that both of us had kind of been pushing off or disregarding much in the way of personal time together.

"It turned out that Bonnie had also chosen to go to Penn State, and you both had a class together, ENGL 15. Because I wasn't really there to talk to you but you were still trying to cope with what you were doing, you ended up talking to Bonnie where you got to vent about your classes and she got to vent about hers."

"What is ENGL 15?"

"Um, 'Rhetoric and Composition' I think it was."

"O-okay? Anyway, um… I thought you said there wasn't any cheating here."

"You weren't cheating. You asked about an event before, Ron. Basically you started talking to Bonnie for some ears to vent to one night when you tried calling me and I was just super-busy… how did I describe this before?"

"You said you snapped at me when I needed some support?" Ron said, showing he still had his marvelous ability to recall Kim's words.

"Yeah, there was one time when you needed to vent, and I was so busy that I was basically like 'I need to talk to you later Ron' – I don't think it really occurred to either of us how we'd not talked that much recently at the time. It was just considered a no big, like if I called you while you were asleep and ended up apologizing and saying good night or something."

"And I was talking with Bonnie and being friendly with Bonnie and she helped because I got to vent to her?"

"Basically. Anyway, so we were both so busy that I was using the people around me like my fellow students or people in the dorm hall as emotional support for the moment and you were using Bonnie and the people around you…"

"So how did we get here, though? We didn't start considering ourselves to not be a couple, did we?"

"No, we considered each other boyfriend and girlfriend, but it wasn't often we were spending time. We both kind of realized that when we managed to tread water for a minute after our first semester."

"No doubt." Ron nodded.

"Anyway, Bonnie'd had a tough time too, and had really mellowed by the time she was talking to you. The Queen Bee had a meltdown something like the one you and I did. For my second semester, I promised myself not to take so many credits again, and to be better prepared for what I was getting myself into. You had some more emotional support from me too and you were feeling more ready for your second semester knowing how tough this was. Right around this time is when you signed up for the understudy at Chez Couteaux.

"During our second semester, we were still pretty overwhelmed. Bonnie and both of us had all become friends and we tried to decompress and have meals together, the three of us, sometimes. But we didn't see each other that often, and there are a few times some project deadline had me bailing on a lunch or dinner so that it ended up being just you two… that as we were nearing the end of the second semester we honestly both just kind of considered each other as friends."

"Just like that? Ron said in amazement.

"To give you an idea, near the end of the second semester there was one lunch meeting I thought I might make but you asked me if it was okay if the next one you and Bonnie had was actually a date-type thing. And it's weird. I wasn't even jealing. Right after you asked me you were surprised to realize you could ask that not viewing it as a big deal, and that I didn't think it was a big deal either. We realized that the college taskmaster had kind of toned us down into friends. It was sort of like what would've happened to us over time if the Diablo thing and Eric hadn't happened – you just grew closer and then fell into it."

"By the time the second semester was over and I had some breathing room again, we were friends, you were in a new relationship with Bonnie, and I started looking for someone to spend time with. It was weird, suddenly I was accepting guys expressing interest in me instead of saying I was taken to put guys off. And you were supportive… you told me yourself how it was interesting that after Graduation you were feeling like you wanted to support me more than you felt jealousy. One day we were talking recently and you said that us not being a couple any more isn't something you 'noticed' happen like you thought you would when we were graduating high school. It happened when you didn't notice it happening."

**~*~*KP*~*~**

"RON!" Dana Stoppable cried, rushing into the room, Dean huffing but hot on her tail.

**continuerai**

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**Author's Notes:** Although I may or may not have done well storytelling my idea of something that could realistically tear apart Kim and Ron's relationship while keeping them friends, I am really pleased at the idea itself I came up with for how they might change relationship back to being just friends. I'd be interested in feedback, though – did this seem credible enough that it bothered you as being all too possible if you were a big Kim and Ron fan? Or did it fall flat? Let me know in a review!

This chapter got a little on the denser side, because I did want to have this be Kim's chapter to explain what happened, but I wanted little details to indicate the relationships and interactions other than walls of dialogue. I actually was feeling it was getting long enough that I almost split it about three-fourths of the way through with the rest saved to start the next chapter, but it would invalidate the chapter's title since she wasn't done with exactly what had happened, and it would've taken away valuable space from the story material intended for next chapter.

Anyway, more than one reviewer noted that Kim didn't seem to say much to explain the breakup in the previous chapter and felt it was 'too quick.' The intention had been for Kim to try to say a really quick version of the overall events before she wades in deeper – I had no intention of her leaving it at that piddly paragraph.

A big thank you to all the people who are liking this story. If you're _not_ liking it, I definitely want to hear what you don't like from you so I can continue to work on making myself a better writer. I reply to all reviews, and I learn from any constructive commentary. Thanks.

**Thanks:** _Pinky Jo Curlytail_ helped me locate some viable culinary school information that helped me work out the plot machinations I'd been hoping for, while remaining ignorant of my grand evil plans. _waveform_ long ago told me he didn't mind me appropriating the names 'Dean' and 'Dana' for the parents Stoppable.


	4. Lost in Pride

**Title: Finding a Life Unknown**

**Story summary: The sequel to Slipgate's '_Losses_' continues. Kim and Ron have fallen apart as a couple. Now, an amnesiac Ron tries to talk to the new most important person in his life… Bonnie Rockwaller.**

**_Disclaimer:__This __story __uses __characters __owned __by __Disney __Corporation __but __does __not __profit __from __doing __so. __The __song _You're the Inspiration _by __Chicago __is __also __used __without __expectation __or __ability __to __profit._**

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**Finding a Life Unknown**

**by Slipgate**

**Chapter 4: Lost in Pride**

The next morning, Ron was sitting up in his hospital bed. Some discarded Jell-O was in a small curved plate on his attached tray. His right arm was crossing his torso with his fingers absently scratching an itch on the inner side of his elbow. In his left hand, he appeared to be holding a photograph.

He'd apparently just started playing a song on the portable music player he'd gotten somewhere, because as Bonnie approached Ron, who was so lost in the photo as to not realize she was there, she heard what he had decided to listen to while staring at his photo.

_You know our love was meant to be  
><em>_The kind of love that lasts forever  
><em>_And I want you here with me  
><em>_From tonight until the end of time  
><em>_You should know  
><em>_Everywhere I go  
><em>_You're always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul, baby_

"_Chicago,_" she thought to herself. "_Figures._"

_You're the meaning in my life  
><em>_You're the inspiration  
><em>_You bring feeling to my life  
><em>_You're the inspiration  
><em>_Wanna have you near me  
><em>_Wanna have you hear me sayin'  
><em>_No one needs you more than I (no one needs more than I) need you…_

Bonnie had paused and was nodding her head to the song with a smile on her face.

_And I know (and I know), yes I know that it's plain to see  
><em>_We're so in love when we're together  
><em>_Now I know (Now I know), that I need you here with me  
><em>_From tonight until the end of time_

She was about to surprise him with a tickle attack when she caught sight of the photo. And the red hair in it. She tried to muffle her gasp by putting her hands up to her mouth. Ron's ears picked up on the gasp and he looked up, and at first his eyes looked at her uncomprehendingly. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he gasped. He looked at the photo in his hand and back up to her. Conveniently, the song hadn't been interrupted.

_(When you love somebody) to the end of time  
><em>_(When you love somebody) always on my mind  
><em>_(No one needs you more than I)  
><em>_When you love somebody (till the end of time)  
><em>_When you love somebody (always on my mind) (no one needs you more than I)  
><em>_When you love somebody till the end of time…_

Hurriedly he hit the stop button on his player.

"Um, hey." he said.

Bonnie took a deep breath, and then sat down in the chair nearest his hospital bed. "She really was, wasn't she?"

"I guess she… was? I'm sorry, Bonnie. I'm just still from what feels like another time."

"Yeah. Everyone's been dropping bombshells on you. So, is it my turn now?" Ron thought he detected a hint of bitterness in the last part.

Ron winced. "I'm sorry, Bonnie. We seem to be getting to you last. It's just… between me trying to figure out everything that had happened, and then my parents coming in yesterday, I haven't exactly given you the ear that a _boyfriend_… or whatever else… _should_. I've just been trying to process… a lot of stuff."

Bonnie sighed. "That's all right. I mean, there are times I've done that to you. Like, 'oh, what was it you were going to tell me, Ron?' And you'd be like, 'Gee, thanks, glad I rate.' Usually it would be about cheer squad or my parents. Anyway, I'm sure there's nothing left to hear from _me_ that you haven't already heard from your parents." She absently brushed some hair to one side and tried to smooth her hand across her creased forehead.

"Are you kidding?" Ron asked, and for a moment, Bonnie stopped, looking at his dumbfounded expression.

"Huh?" was the most intelligent thing she could offer.

"Look, I know what you told me about how, um, we, I mean my parents and I, reconnected in a big way. That didn't happen to _me_ though. I know that sounds weird, but I'm clueless here. I mean, yesterday when they came… well, first off, you should know that I did ask about you, but they felt that that was… that it was up to you what you wanted to share and what you didn't with me. Or what you wanted to fill me in on, or whatever."

"Oh," Bonnie muttered. Somehow, even though she wanted to talk about this, there'd been something nice in the fact that Ron used to know this already instead of her having to relive it, and she found part of her hadn't minded the idea of someone else filling him in. At one time, Bonnie had beat herself up mercilessly with the old adage _pride __comes __before __a __fall_. To this she now added _and __then __you __have __to __talk __about __it __all._

"So they were hesitant to do that and… between that and the fact that I haven't had that reconnecting experience with them that you all talk about, I mean… we had _nothing __to __talk __about_, really. Between how I'd heard pretty much everything from you guys already and that the stuff specific to you they hesitated to be the ones to share with me instead of letting you… and the fact that… I mean, I was not all that open with them, back in the time _I _remember, and the 'me' that was open with them was open about stuff I wasn't there for. I don't know where to begin with them, and they don't know where to begin with me short of repeating what you and Kim had already told me. And they hesitated to tell me anything about you.

"So it was a hospital visit where they got to see I was alive, but, that was about it. Whatever you guys are telling me about… how I was open to them?... Now that I know about it, I can _try_ to be more open with them going forward but it's not like I really know how. And anything I _could_ talk to them about is from years ago. They already know."

Bonnie's hands reached out for Ron's. "That must have broken their hearts," she said.

"I know," Ron grunted in frustration. "I hated that, but I didn't know what else I could do. I didn't even know how to _pretend_."

Bonnie stood and was about to cross to the sink provided in Ron's bathroom when her eyes fell to the tray again. "Are you not going to finish that Jell-O?" she asked.

"Oh, uh, it's been here since last night."

Bonnie wrinkled her nose as she lifted the little cup of Jell-O. She washed it out in the sink and tossed it in the trash, but not before remembering her original purpose behind getting up and ran water over her face as she leaned her elbows against the sink. She stared into the little mirror, feeling for Ron, feeling for his parents, and yes, feeling for herself.

"Ron," she said, speaking into the mirror but eyeing him in the reflection, "you may not be inclined to repeat every story to them, but if you make it a point to talk to them more often, they'll receive you. Your parents, when I started talking to them bit by bit, started receiving _me_. And eventually they'll know enough about present-day you to be able to understand you enough to know when you're happy, or when something's bothering you, even if you don't tell them about every trivial minute of every day."

"This sounds like something you're repeating, Bonnie." Ron said wonderingly.

"It's an epiphany _you_ came to slowly, and started sharing with me. I just wish it had been as successful with my own mom, but your parents were good to me." Bonnie stepped back from the sink and came by Ron's bedside, ruffling his hair with a smile. "And you were too."

"Back then," Ron said, finding himself gradually able to confide in this odd Bonnie, "the people who needed to know what was up with me – Rufus, Kim – knew what was up with me. I didn't tend to repeat myself again for the benefit of my parents. I don't know _how _the current me was closer to them or how _he_ did things. That's… not me. But… I'm thinking about what you're saying here. I guess that would work, but man, that would be a slow process."

"Sometimes things are," Bonnie softly replied, shrugging.

"And… Bonnie? I have been thinking about you, and whether the _me_ that there is right now… I mean, I must've changed before _we_ were in a relationship. You used to be annoyed with me, and something must have changed for you to view me differently. And I'm wondering if that's _not_ true anymore. I mean, am I even really the guy you dated, Bonnie? In terms of my behavior and what I prioritize in life and so on? Don't take this the wrong way, I mean I'm _not _going anywhere. I'm just wondering if I really am going to be the guy you had a relationship with before, or if this is going to be one of those cases where a person has changed so much that they're not the person you used to know anymore. I don't know if I am the guy you dated. I have no idea _how_ to know that. You tell me."

Bonnie had sunk into her chair as Ron spoke. He was alarmed to see that she was wiping some tears from her eyes. "In the ways that really matter, Ron," she said, "you just showed that you _are_ still that guy." Ron smiled uncertainly. "I _am_ sorry about your parents, I mean, I can't force you to feel comfortable with them if _you_ don't feel comfortable the way you used to. But I can try to help you with that. It's something we sort of, ah, would have long conversations with each other about at one time – the things we didn't talk about with our parents. Anyway, I was grateful for your parents since my mom… is still a work in progress, at best."

Ron leaned back in the bed. "So, Bonnie... tell me about the last few years."

"That's the segue I get?" Bonnie asked, making a face.

"Look, I don't know, everyone seems to be dropping years of info on me. But nobody else tells me what you've been up to. How would you want me to phrase it?"

"Well, you know you started a two year associate's degree culinary program." Bonnie began.

She looked out the window for a moment. "Well, I suppose it'll help to know first off that we've been a couple for one and a half years of the two and a half years you're missing."

"You mean I only had a year and a half before Kim and… um, wow, I'll shut up now." Ron gulped.

"No, it's fine. Actually, I think Kim was probably telling you some of this – how by the time you were both in college for a year the classes had kind of had you be more like friends than a couple."

"Ahh, yeah. See, now that makes sense, but I didn't exactly have it in the math terms." Ron said, scratching his cheek in his embarrassment.

"Don't be embarrassed," Bonnie said, and it was odd for Ron how tender she sounded. "Anyway, I'll admit that Kim had more of a struggle coming to college because she found herself struggling at the things she expected to excel at. And I don't mean that in a bad way – she couldn't really have anticipated what she didn't know, you know? But for me, I didn't excel at the things I _needed_ to excel at – I came here not even anticipating the things I'd need to be doing. Cheer squad and high school social pecking order wasn't going to fly."

"Cheer squad? But college sporting…"

"The cheer squad would've been good, if I had really good grades or focused on any of the class stuff early on. I hadn't focused too hard on my classes at Middleton High – except for a few things like driver's ed," here she stopped as she tossed her hair with a proud smile, "and high school social structure meant nothing to college, when people were commuters just there during class or were hanging out or studying at study rooms or on the quad or at peoples' dorms. There weren't halls and entourages, not any more."

Ron was as new to this as Bonnie had been describing her freshman self. He hung on every word she said. "Because I'd struggled with enough courses, the English class placement had been ENGL 15. First day…" suddenly Bonnie wiped a tear from her eye, "first day I showed up, and I hadn't yet really learned how college was different yet at the time. It was day one. I saw you, and I said, "What the heck is this loser doing here? I still have to deal with froobs?"

Bonnie stopped. Ron reached out his hands. "You said," she continued, "You said, 'Hey Bonnie! You're going to PSU also? How about that, you, me, and Kim all going here!' And I freaked out."

Ron actually sympathized. "I can imagine. This was just a half year out of context for me. I can imagine we all thought we'd be done with each other."

Bonnie nodded. "However, my first hint that things weren't going to be like high school was when some other girl in the class turned around and said, 'What are you screaming about? These new students are all losers.'"

Bonnie laughed. "I'm not sure I could even pay attention to that first session of class. I was just shocked speechless by how I'd been dismissed." Her face turned serious. "It took a few weeks. When I started realizing that I was bombing the classes, and that nobody operated the way I was used to socially – my mind finally caught up. I was the dumb 'loser' on campus who was never prepared for the discussion topic, and anyone who was socializing was doing it based on trying to understand the lectures or the readings. I hadn't even paid attention to the brief rundown of 'audience' considerations in our ENGL 15 class…"

"Audience considerations?" Ron asked, befuddled.

Bonnie winced. "Oh, Ron. Well, it looks like I might get to return the favor."

"What favor?"

"This is jumping ahead a bit, but when I realized I needed to wake up, you offered me what help you could with the understandings of the teacher's topics you'd been struggling with, including how you write with audience in mind."

"Uhhh…" Ron's eyebrows drew down. He hated feeling stupid. "Let's just say you'll have to return that favor."

"Fair enough. Anyway, people who were socializing were trying to commit to memory the different examples the professor as using, and then chatting and having other hangouts by getting to know each other that way. I was just the girl who seemed to be completely lost in space to everyone in class, and stuck in front of the little TV in my dorm room – not even the common room to be talking to other people about the latest soap episode or how irresistible Willy Celebrity is."

"I guess I don't know how to make it sound non-tacky because I was pretty damn tacky back in the day, but it really got to me. I think Kim said something about that. I _really_ don't like the word _loser_ – I didn't respond so well to feeling like one during that first year. And eventually as I was bombing things, I turned to you because you were the only one I didn't feel dumb around."

"So then you and I started talking?"

"Yeah. You were struggling, but you were able to give me at least some concepts, and when I started paying attention and looking over handouts you kept and I hadn't, I started being able to help you. At the time, you really wanted to do well, but you also wanted to make Kim proud of you. Anyway, you used to vent to me to feel better and I used to vent to you, eventually."

"Kim said we didn't see a lot of each other that first semester."

"Still a good memory for her words, huh? Yeah, you didn't see a lot of Kim – I think she didn't really have the chance, that first semester, to process that I was in class with you, though I'm sure she heard of it at some point. She was struggling, and realized you were too at the end of the first semester. You guys were constantly thinking _of_ each other, as I gathered later, but hadn't spent a lot of time with each other. During final exams week you'd called Kim to vent because you started thinking 'hey, we haven't talked for a while,' but she didn't really have the time to help you feel more reassured, and you ended up talking to me. I'd like to say, even though it was only a semester since high school by then, I'd like to think I was a very different person by then. Talk about trial by fire."

"Over the break, Kim was appreciative of how I seemed to be a bit different, and proud of how you and I had helped each other – she'd appreciated the help around her she'd been able to get coping with her classes, and was realizing how you'd both been struggling but not talking that much. Thanks to being your friend, we were able to start treating each other different – _really _different. I think had it been before that moment, you could've woken up with the memories you have up to that point and not been weirded out, but that's when the changes became majorly noticeable."

"I don't know – I'm not sure I would've known what 'audience considerations' were if you asked me that time when you realized you hadn't been paying attention."

"Ha ha. Anyway, Mr. Reed was usually good about e-mailing people missed assignments or topic explanations, but it had been long enough that it was a bit much for him to feel like I could just read in e-mail instead of having paid attention in class. He had no way of knowing whether he'd go to a bunch of effort for someone who was just abusing his 'niceness.'"

"That's kind of rank."

"Honestly, he'd just had too many idiots who'd done stuff like turning in 6 of 20 assignments, being warned that this was no way to pass, and getting another two for half-credit as if that would make a difference. He was a nice guy that started jumping through less hoops on account of students who might not even bother anyway."

"Well, I suppose I don't know him, but I'm just sick of unfairness from teachers. I probably have told you enough Barkin stories already, though, huh?"

Bonnie quirked a grin. "You know, you're not exactly like you were back in senior year either – I don't think you would've asked Kim that question back then. Certainly not when the topic was Wannaweep back in sophomore year, at least."

"Ha ha. And for a moment I thought you weren't Bonnie."

"Guilty as charged," she said with a grin and flip of her hair. "Anyway, you and K did some stuff just the two of you, or with your families – you and Kim did Christmas when we were home between the semesters. But we ended up doing stuff like all three of us going out for lunch and just talking about things like movies or like this or that professor. Kim was definitely sure she'd tried to overload herself the first semester so she promised she'd take a smaller course load and that there would actually be some human contact."

"What Kim's told me is that we used to actually meet up sometimes, but that she was still pretty busy and would miss one of those meals together, and eventually by a semester or so in she and I felt more like friends, enough so that I didn't mind asking her if the next meal date we had that she intended to be at could just be you and me as an _actual_ date. And that she, to her own surprise, wasn't even bothered by the question."

"Well, I thought there might be a little of the green eyes at first, but you're probably right – not compared to what happened when Felix took her Ron Night way back when, anyway."

"Ah-heh, you know about that, huh?"

"Ask her sometime to tell you about 'frozen yogurt.' Anyway, you started your understudy at the nearby Chez Couteaux – the one near PSU, conveniently enough… that was during the break."

"Wait, okay, but one thing I don't know – what is your major?"

"Journalism at first, thinking I'd be a fashion reporter for the hip, happening trends. Struggling with low-end English classes is not well-boding on that, though. I've actually gone undeclared for now and letting myself just learn this and that before I try to choose again. You were helping me with that."

"But… two years in?"

"We'd narrowed it down a bit – with Kim's advice too – and I was going to make a selection in the next two or three weeks."

"Well, uh, lay them on me, let's see what we think."

"Oh, believe me, we will, but later."

Ron sank back against the bed. He realized he'd been clasping Bonnie's hands for a while now as he let go to get comfortable.

"To be honest, Ron – well, that's how we started as a couple. Kim's been – sometimes – looking to find another significant other herself, but we're all pretty good friends I think. It's pretty amazing since you helped glue together the two most squeaky girls of Middleton High. And I don't mean squeaky clean."

"Looks like the Ron-man did something right, then."

"Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm up to telling you about a relationship you don't remember – especially one and a half years of one – at least not right now, or not all at once."

"Whoa, wait, Bonnie, you thought you had to tell me everything at once?"

"Well, you'd be left just as hanging if I didn't tell you a lot as you would if I told you nothing!"

"Sure, but I would understand that two and a half years aren't exactly a bedtime story."

"Well, do you at least have enough to go on that you're not quite as confused trying to imagine this all happening?"

Ron stole a quick glance at the photo he'd had before, but then looked up at her and his voice was resolute as he said, "No, no, I think I'm good for now."

"Phew!" Bonnie said, and she filled another tall glass of water that she gulped down. Meanwhile, you could see the synapses firing behind Ron's eyes.

Finally, after Bonnie gasped in air after chugging the water, he pounced. "So what about your parents?"

"You tried to get me to reach out to my parents, but I haven't had the success I've had with yours. Honestly, I want to say 'it didn't work with them' earlier when I called my mom a work in progress but even though I'm not all that inclined to bother again. But you – or at least, you before – would have told me to not consider the door locked but just shut for a while waiting for me to try again."

"And you were called loser a lot, and eventually you and I became friends – the two losers in the crowd?"

"If you have to describe it that way, then yeah. Any other questions, Dr. Sigmund Stoppable?"

"Just one." Bonnie groaned. "Hey Bonnie," Ron said, a smile slowly spreading on his face, "by this coming Friday they tell me that I'm out of direct observation in the hospital. I was wondering if you would be, uh… interested in going on a date?"

"Me, you, average guy, huh?" Bonnie said, her own irritation forgotten as a small smile came on her face.

"Wow, what verbal mannerisms or stories from high school haven't I told you? Anyway, yes, seriously, yes. How about a date this coming Friday?"

**~*~*KP*~*~**

_**Author**__**'**__**s **__**Notes: **__I __hope __you __are __enjoying __this __small __effort__ – __it__'__s _not _over _just yet_. __Before __I __forget to say this__ – __because __sometimes __I __do__ – __I__'__d __really __like __to __hear __from __people __in __reviews. __You __don__'__t __have __to __say __it__'__s __good. __You __can __say __it__'__s __terrible. __I __want __to __hear __what __you __think __and __I __can __work __with __that. __Also, __I __may __be __behind __on __responding __to __some __reviews __(for __the __same __reasons __that __it__'__s __been __a __few __weeks __since __my __last __chapter) __but __I__'__ll __be __getting __on __that __in __the __next __day __or __two, __and __I __always, _always_, __respond __to __every __review._

_So we get some of Bonnie's story. Her way of relating to people these days is a bit different than what Kim and Ron do. What would you do if you were asked to sum up two and a half years? As someone who once had to do that with a college friend, let's just say it usually doesn't work over a single dinner._

_**Thanks: **__First off, I would like to give thanks to _SithKnight-Galen_ as his review of _**Losses**_ was one of the little pieces of straw on the camel's back to eventually have me revisit that story and make a potential sequel. _ShadowMaiden03_ and _AnotherKpfan_ have been so passionate about the story in their reviews that it acts as a pretty good pick me up and made me want to get the next chapter out instead of feeling like I'd dropped the ball on their enthusiasm. Yes, those reviewers had glowingly positive reviews, but I bring them up here in the sense of how they were enjoying it so much they were asking for more. Negative reviews would've also pushed me, wanting me to do better with the next entry (if they were polite and constructive, anyway). Lastly, I must pay respects to _Pinky Jo Curlytail_ and _Earl Allison_ for the contributions they have made in helping me with this story – whether it's spitballing motivations, reactions to songs, or information about schools offering culinary programs._


	5. Epilogue: Picking Our Way

**Title: Finding a Life Unknown**

**Story summary: The sequel to Slipgate's '_Losses_' concludes. There were things that were lost. What has been found, and what comes next?**

**_Disclaimer: This story uses characters owned by Disney Corporation but does not profit from doing so._**

**_I reference a real-life news story during this chapter. I was uncomfortable putting a real person in here without their express consent, but it's not meant as disrespect to her ordeal._**

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**Finding a Life Unknown**

**by Slipgate**

**Epilogue: Picking Our Way**

The next several days were a bit of a whirlwind. They kept up the hospital observation. All the doctors, including Anne Possible, had declared him as well as can be expected. They would check on him periodically, but there was no reason to live in the hospital any more – now came the time to try to reconstruct whatever memories he could on his own and with those he cared about.

**~*~*KP*~*~**

In that time, he learned about how lucky he had it. There had been a woman named Su Meck. In 1988, she'd suffered a freak ceiling fan accident in which she completely lost all her 22 years. This was made worse by the fact that she had a husband and two sons. She'd had to re-learn how to read, walk, talk – everything. For a long time there, her husband had to play the role more of a big brother. She eventually re-married her husband and had a third child, as well as getting an associate's degree, but what stuck with Ron the most was that the woman had a different personality than she'd had before, and there had been no guarantee that the new her would fall in love with the same man she had before again. He was less enthusiastic about the fact that even now she didn't remember the births of her first two children. And he definitely wasn't excited to realize that his college degree and MBA admittance were probably just paper now, but his parents were helping him look into his options.

As thrilled as he was that she'd turned her life around from literally nothing, it made him realize how lucky he had it that he'd lost so few of his memories, by comparison, but also that, as unknown and uncomfortable as this life might be for him, he had lots of support – more than he really knew how to work with, more than he'd been accustomed to having from others before the accident. It was a surreal experience.

As for rebuilding his own life, there were a lot of things to consider. Per the girls' suggestions, he'd consulted the Doctors Possible to have some sort of DVD constructed that could give him some highlights. He'd heard things from Kim and Bonnie but visuals would certainly help, he thought. One day in the hospital the Doctors Possible, Kim, Wade, Bonnie, and the Stoppables all showed up with a DVD in tow and a portable player.

James Possible began setting up the player. "You know, Ronald, this one will be a little different than the one I used with Kimmie-cub."

"How's that, Mr. Dr. P?"

"Well, Kim had nothing and we were trying to construct lots of montage flash videos to give her the sense of different things in her life, hoping her recall would start filling in the rest. For example, seeing a fight with Shego might stir the memories of other fights with Shego once the ball got rolling."

Ron nodded. "I'm not sure why I didn't stick around to watch that disc with Kim."

"Neither am I, to be honest, Ron. I guess it was getting late and we didn't quite think of it. Anyway, you're lucid instead of chasing light beams. So we probably don't need the same kind of 'flash memory' approach because there's a fair amount less we need to do. We did use some of that, but mainly we consulted whatever videos and photos Kim, Wade, Bonnie, and the Stoppables could provide – from high school or after."

"To be honest, Mr. Dr. P – and no disrespect meant – but I'm glad it's not just the memory flashes approach because I'm not sure if that approach was enough to make everything chauncey."

James stopped a moment. Kim's eyes had grown softer, understanding, as James turned around and headed for Ron's bedside. Silently, James embraced Ron. "I'm sorry about where that approach failed, Ronald."

"No big, Mr. Dr. P."

As they settled in for the video, Ron raised an eyebrow and looked to Kim. She smiled back and shrugged. The start of the video, of course, tried to pick up where his life had left off. There were snippets about different missions Kim and Ron had been on, but a lot of it was surveillance from Wade that had made Ron look askance at the teenager. He saw about how the college sitch had been starting to bother him, and got to hear about a few events that surprised him – "I took KP to Paris for Valentine's Day except I didn't plan it as taking her?" he asked the room, but nobody had an answer for him – and he saw how Kim and Yori had become fine around each other. Actually, a fair amount of stuff seemed to cut in to Wade or Kim talking about various things while facing a camera, recounting some memorable Kim/Ron dates or aspects of what was going on that a video wouldn't cover so well. It all seemed like a good time on the dates for the most part – things had looked okay other than the college sitch and a few disagreements, but the latter was nothing he and Kim hadn't had before.

He then saw pieced-together multi-part footage of graduation, because the ceremony had been completed in part before Kim's abduction and then re-visited after, as well as some segments described by Kim and Wade due to the communications problems caused by the Lowardians. He looked at Bonnie when she was informed she wasn't graduating without summer credit and jumped into Junior's arms when he promised to be with her. He'd probably have looked to her at that point anyway, but it kind of helped that he heard her grind her teeth when hearing Junior promise that.

The defeat of the Lowardians had never ended up on any video. Suddenly the video changed again, and Ron gasped. "Shego!"

She was in what looked like a lab that wasn't built into a cave, as a pair of blue hands tried steadying the camera, sometimes obstructing the view for a moment.

"Hey, Stoppable. Heard you're up in a bad way and was asked to do my Good Samaritan duty of filling you in on what you don't know about. Thank God I'm not actually your teacher any more, though… So, if you really do have only the memories I've been told you have, you probably gasped 'Shego!' in surprise the moment the video got to this moment. Well whatever, helped save the world, turned over a new leaf, this is being recorded in Drakken's current digs, yada, _yada_, yada."

Shego examined her nails. "Kim knows what happened during Graduation, but pretty princess was out for some of it. Drakken was off dealing with walkers. I'm the one who was conscious for your whole blue light song and dance. _That's_ why all your family and friends decided, heh, that they _needed_ me."

"You… well, there'd been some pretty snazzy battling going on. Ask Kimmie to tell you about the move where you flew toward Warhok and held your arms down to give her a boost when she jumped from the ground, used your acrobatic assist, and spun through the air to land on his jet glider and rip it off. I have to give her that one – slick. You were a bit distracted, though… I've been told since that it was because you were worried you wouldn't get to be with your bestest bestest friend after Graduation."

Kim growled and Ron narrowed his eyes. "Don't pay it any mind," Bonnie said. "You know the girl is unrepentantly blunt."

"Anyway, we thought we got them but they broke free – that sent Drakken spinning off in his hovercraft, and on his way back he worked on dealing with walkers. I was knocked for a loop but managed to get my head on again in time enough to see that Kim had been knocked unconscious and that Warhok was holding her up by one leg upside down and talking about stuffing her and taking her back as a trophy.

"I was trying to get up but couldn't quite manage it, even though I was thinking hell was breaking loose and I had to do something before we were all roasted. But you… well, frankly, them threatening Kim like that… made you go ape-shit."

Ron widened his eyes at the cursing, but somehow Kim, Bonnie, Wade – heck, all of them – just winced. "Oh God the pun," Bonnie drawled.

"Huh?" Ron asked.

"Shhh," many people said.

"Your skin became surrounded by this blue light – you became totally blue in color – and the light surrounding you took the shape of a monkey, even a tail. You rose up in the air and the sky turned into a red swirl. I swear to God, you think I'd make this sch…."

"Shego! Not again!" Drakken's voice interrupted plaintively.

"Ah, I mean, make this stuff up? Anyway, you looked pissed, and when you attacked them after that, you were knocking them back huge distances and blocking their punches even though their fists were like the size of your giant gut back then. It was like electrical heebie jeebie sounds every time you blocked. Finally they both tried to jump you together, you grabbed one in each arm – or was it the energy light that was arm-shaped around your arms? – and hurled them skyward at their crashing ship."

"Wait, you mean I…"

Suddenly Shego's voice turned grave, and her eyes got serious. "I know what you're thinking, Ron. But you have to know – the world didn't exactly escape without fatalities that day. You've already made your peace with this once before, and I don't really have the patience to hear about you making your peace with it again, so get over it. Think back to when I cut Kim's jetpack off. If you hadn't caught her, and in fighting me afterwards I got knocked off a roof during our brawl, would you be a murderer? Hell no. Same difference applies. In fact, that was probably a miserably insufficient example."

This part of the DVD had the unexpected consequence that Ron had gotten enough information overload that he needed a break before he watched the rest. At least, that's the charitable excuse everyone was willing to accept. Everyone got out except for Kim and Bonnie, intent on returning with the disc the next day.

Ron was silent for a long time.

"I suppose it's not the same as doing it, hearing about it. I don't know why – whether it's because I'm remembering some of myself, or just because it's more like watching _Saving Private Ryan_ than it is fighting in a war myself – but… I don't seem to need as much convincing that it was okay as I probably did when this first happened. But still – I'm almost uncomfortable that I'd be accepting it more easily than before, even though I'm sure that would be easier on everyone else to deal with."

There were no hesitations or questions asked. Kim enfolded Ron in a huge hug and patted his back. "I'm fine, Kim… I'm…" suddenly he burst into tears. "I never thought I'd be callous about killing."

"You weren't, Ron." Bonnie said, surprising him by still moving to sit on the bed despite the display. "Actually, maybe in some ways it's like what happened to you and me a few days ago. You cared about her enough to fight in her stead, and you cared enough about saving this world that you made a tough decision in a split second, like you're sometimes forced to. If you hadn't been so intent on defending me from any possible harm, we might not be here right now, but I might've died on that street. I really don't want to compare the situations, though. I've never asked you whether you knew or not that people had died, but I'm sure you must have. Walkers had crashed all over the world. Obviously sometimes this would be on peoples' houses, with them inside. And you were now the last line of defense, with Kim, Shego, everyone out. And personally, in the short term, you knew you had to do _something_ about them before they literally killed Kim."

Ron needed a minute or more to get his tears under control, but Kim held him and Bonnie patted his shoulder throughout until, with a last sniffle, he said, "I think I'm okay for now." Kim gradually pulled away, and Ron got up and shuffled to his sink to clear up his face and composure.

"Let's pick this up tomorrow, huh?" he said, a pleading tone in his voice.

**~*~*KP*~*~**

The next day had been a bit more mundane – Kim and Bonnie had talked a lot about this stuff already.

It was neat to see the class tape on some presentations he'd made included in the disc. "I sound like I know what I'm talking about there!" he marveled during a final paper presentation on Ernest Hemingway he had made that Wade had recorded. He wiped a good tear from his eye when the Chef de Cuisine of Chez Couteaux, a portly man with laugh lines and a nice smile, talked about how wonderful it was to work with Ronald and how eager the young boy was to learn.

Time passed, and finally, the day came when he was discharged, other than periodic checks, to the loving care of those around him.

**~*~*KP*~*~**

"Now first you told me you're engaged, Bonnie! Or at least that's what your phone message while you were laughing said. And now you tell me you're not! I mean, what am I supposed to think other than that you were drunk or high or something that night?"

"Mother, I… I can't even begin to describe to you what's been going on here, because you're not even prepared to listen.

"Look, here's the part that you'll understand. Ron and I have needed to take a step back, sort of rewind the clock on our relationship. That doesn't mean anything bad _will_ happen to it. It's just something that we needed, after talking together."

"So what is this about this engagement, then, Bon-Bon?" Mrs. Rockwaller commented, shrill as always.

"Are you prepared to listen for more than _two_ minutes at a stretch, mom?"

"Don't talk to me that way. When you're prepared to talk respectfully to your mother, then, we'll talk."

"Wait mo-agh," Bonnie said, as she heard the click. "Well, there's one thing that's _constant _in my life at least. Who knows, maybe the new Ron might have some new insights on what I can _do_ there to change things with my mom." She smiled wistfully. "I don't know if he'll have any success, though. I know even his patience back when gave up on Connie and Lonnie as a lost cause."

"_I'll have to ask K if she ever told him about them back in high school junior year or if he first met them when I introduced him._" she thought. "_Kind of sucks that I have to hesitate to talk about it, though, since we're now back to date one and that's 'meet the parents' type stuff._"

**~*~*KP*~*~**

"So, I'll pick you up at 7:30?" Ron said.

"All right. See you then, Ron." Bonnie replied.

Ron walked into the kitchen as he held the phone with one hand, opening the fridge and retrieving the orange juice. As he reached for a glass, he said, "You know I'm a lucky guy, Bonnie?"

"Well it's nice of you to think so," Bonnie said, as she supported the phone with her shoulder and painted her nails.

They clicked off, and Ron drank his orange juice then washed his face in the sink. Afterwards, he left the kitchen. Kim was waiting for him and immediately stepped forward to critique the state of his clothing.

Kim had never had that dish session with Bonnie that she'd talked about that first day Ron was hospitalized. She'd wanted to. It would have been a hint of normality in what had been a crazy day. But Kim didn't feel all that appropriate talking Bonnie's ear off about what was going wrong in her own life, especially her love life, in the middle of what both Bonnie and Ron were facing right now.

Kim had, partly as a result of the opportunity for girl talk and partly as a result of the awkwardness she felt inherent in being that girl who is a guy's ex-girlfriend and who talks to him about all the relationship troubles and other guys, never really talked to Ron about her dating life. In fact, before the accident, Kim had not quite let on to Ron that she was starting to approach levels of desperation and questioning self-worth that had first prompted the (in retrospect) almost youthfully naïve question she had asked him, "Do you really think there's a guy out there for me?"

She wanted to talk about this with Bonnie. And considering how much she was being affected, how much it was getting to her, she realized she needed to talk about it with Ron or he would get upset with her for not sharing something that was bothering his best friend so much. But… how could she do that right now? She hoped that tonight at least gave them enough semblance of normalcy that she could sit down and dish with at least one of them, if not both of them, tomorrow.

Kim was smoothing out his shoulders on his suit. Suddenly, she thought, "_What are you doing, Possible? You're getting too comfortable."_ She hesitated, then stopped and stepped back. Before she could say anything to him, Ron suddenly snagged her hands and looked deep in her eyes. "Kim? Thanks. Thanks for all your help."

"No big." she replied, letting go of his hands that were clasped with hers.

"No. Way big."

They were silent a moment.

"So, umm, what do you think? Do I seem ready to show a lady a good time?"

She nodded. "You seem ready to me…" she whispered.

He took a deep breath. "Thanks Kim, again…"

He stepped away and turned for the door. Just as he reached for the knob, Kim suddenly stopped him. "Ron, wait."

"Yeah, KP?"

"I want you to know, Ron, that… I know you're worried about whether this thing with Bonnie will work out or not. I hope it does, but I want you to know, if it doesn't, it's not _you_."

"What do you mean?" Ron said, furrowing his brow.

"Just… just take it from someone with experience. If things don't work out between you and Bonnie, it's not you."

Ron stared at her for a moment, with plenty of questions on the tip of his tongue.

She just smiled and said, "Go get her, RS."

Wordlessly, he left.

**Finding a Life Unknown**

**~*~*KP*~*~**

**_Author's Notes:_** I give you a complete story. There are reviewers (and possibly others) who might look at this and still want to know what happens next, but I had a laser focus in what I intended to cover with this story, and too much of that detail would get too far outside our main characters. I hint at a few things, and a big part of this story has been me working on saying more with less words, so I'd really like to see if people pick up on some of the events I didn't spell out.

I admit there's one area in which this story falls flat. When I wrote **_Losses _**and then later this story, I thought I was constructing an emotionally devastating and life-changing situation for the three characters to find themselves in. However, I've done some research on amnesia as part of my work on this story, trying to see if there was a type of amnesia that actually fit what happens to Ron, and how likely memory recovery is, and other details like that. Fortunately, there is a type of retrograde amnesia that can have effects like that Ron has. Unfortunately, I really didn't realize how life-shattering the multiple types of amnesia can be. Su Meck's story is happy news compared to some of the total memory wipes or other cognitive problems that happen to some people.

Back when I wrote **_Losses_**, I imagined Ron waking to find he was with some other girl, but that girl didn't necessarily have to be Bonnie. As I was planning the story my notes kept saying 'Bonnie or some other girl,' but by the time I finished writing it I decided to stick with the placeholder name and make it her. At the time, the fact it _was_ Bonnie was just a detail fixed into place and not the point of the story. However, in this story I'm glad that I'd selected Bonnie seven months ago. I still view **_Losses _**as a story that can be read on its own as a what-if and this as a _potential_ sequel. But in _this_ story, Bonnie offered several interesting possibilities to me, some of which I took and some of which I didn't.

I think one of the most interesting challenges of writing this story has been taking what I wrote in **_Losses_** and trying to make it something that you could _buy_ happening given where Kim and Ron left off in Season 4. Did I succeed at that? I'm interested in your critiques – **please review!** I'd love to discuss it with people.


End file.
